Mirror Beauty
by Sharingan-Youkai
Summary: Sephiroth is dead, again. But then why are people claiming he's running around in Kalm? Cloud and Vincent check it out, only to find out Sephiroth has a very interesting female counterpart.


**A//N **

**Well lets get this thing going shall we...You probably might find this weird but I've written or are writing heaps of stories where characters have identical siblings...I'm writing one where Itachi Uchiha has a twin sister, I've got a popular one where Kakashi has a twin sister and I'm thinking about writing one for our favourite hot-headed Turk Reno...I was thinking about giving him a little sister...Her name being Reo, as in Reno but without the 'n'. Anyway I'll get to that later. This story was inspired by an author from a writing site called 'Fanlib'. Yes people I have quite a few writing accounts with other websites. If you wanna check that out I've got an account on something similar to Fanfiction but is called 'Ficwad' then there's 'Fanlib' as mentioned before, and then there is also another one that I can't think of at the moment...I haven't actually published anything on either sites but I'm working on it. Anyway enough chit chat here's the story.**

**Disclaimer: **

_**I Sharingan-Youkai do not own Final Fantasy 7. If I did Sephiroth would have more screen time and wouldn't get killed over and over by a guy who's hair style reminds me of a CHOCOBO'S ASS! **_

_Ah-hem..._

_**Summary:**_

_Sephiroth has been defeated yet again and everything is returning to normal for our Hero's. Everything is going the way it should be. But what happens when a very suspicious character is spotted in Kalm? Whose description matches the dead General's? When confronted by Cloud a very shocking story is revealed. Sephiroth has a sister... a twin sister..._

**Stage one:** _**Shocking Development**_

It's been rather peaceful in Midgar and other places. The Seventh Heaven is back in business and has been so for a while, Strife Delivery service is keeping Cloud busy, to busy if one could have an opinion. All in all everything was just the way people liked it. Well…almost...

"Gah! Has anyone seen Marlene? I can't find her anywhere! Marlene!" Shouted a distressed Tifa as she searched the bar for the young girl. The three occupants of the bar being Barret, who was snickering to himself quietly, seeming unfazed by his adopted daughters absence, the blond Pilot Cid who was half asleep with his head propped on his hand while the other tapped the bench quietly and Cloud, who had all but passed out over the bench after returning from his seventh delivery this afternoon. The poor guy was exhausted.

Tifa bolted upstairs again in search of the young girl, looking everywhere but in plain site. The girl was just hiding beside the near unconscious Cloud laughing quietly. Barret found this as funny as hell, Cid was to busy trying to sleep to care and Cloud...well Cloud had just passed out and was now snoring lightly, causing more laughter to erupt from the big man beside Cid. Tifa came down the stairs and glared at Barret as he continued to laugh.

"What's so funny Barret? Marlene is-" she trailed off when she spotted a pink ribbon sticking out next to Cloud's elbow. Her face dropped as she realised her situation. She had panicked for no reason at all...looked everywhere but under rocks, pulled her hair out and ran a marathon...and the girl was right in front of her the whole time. The look on Tifa's face only fuelled Barret's laughter, which only added to Tifa's expression. Marlene popped out from behind the snoring blond and waved at Tifa while laughing. The Bar maid only sighed and slapped her forehead.

She ignored Barret's laughter and walked over to Cloud who was still snoring lightly. She leaned over him and poked the back of his head. No response. She laughed slightly and poked him again, nothing. And after a few more pokes and no responses the door suddenly opened revealing none other than Sir Talk-a-lot Vincent Valentine! Tifa eyed Vincent and blinked.

"Vincent what brings you all the way here?" the said ex-Turk didn't reply straight away, first he had to eye the snoring Cloud while Marlene continued poking him in the head while sitting on the bench.

"I came to speak with Cloud." Tifa sighed and turned to the blond man.

"Looks like he's sleeping, can it wait?" She didn't expect what happened next. Vincent strode over to Cloud and gripped the back of his shirt and yanked him backwards off the seat. The blond yelped at the sudden jerk out of sleep and hit the ground with a hard _thud_. He looked up to see the source of his sudden wake up call to see Vincent looking down at him. He blinked, then sat up and rubbed his eyes with one hand while yawning slightly.

"What is it Vincent?" he asked as he pulled himself to his feet and sat back down this time facing the Gunman.

"I've heard a rumour that shouldn't be ignored." Cloud frowned.

"What rumour?" Vincent eyed the blond before him.

"Someone matching Sephiroth's description has been spotted in Kalm." At that name Cloud's eyes narrowed.

"Sephiroth? But he's dead." Vincent nodded.

"Yes, but I've been hearing other rumours about an old Shinra Science division, apparently it's back in business. My guess is, if the person spotted in Kalm is indeed Sephiroth, then he's been cloned yet again. And if that's the case who knows how many more clones there may be." Cloud straightened himself in his seat as he glared at the floor.

"I'm getting fed up with all this Cloning crap. All Sephiroth does is try to destroy the planet, so why do they persist in re-creating him?" Vincent looked to the side for a moment.

"They probably think they can control him, make him do what they want him to. But that I highly doubt...No one can control him." Cloud nodded his head.

"Then what should we do?" Vincent returned his gaze to Cloud.

"We should go to Kalm and investigate the rumour. And if it is him, then we prepare to fight." Cloud nodded.

"Then Kalm we go."

--XX--

A tall figure wearing a black cloak wondered through a dark street, a hood covering their features from prying eyes. The only visible traits were long silver strands of hair protruding from under the hoods front, glowing green/blue cat-like eyes lingering in half site, and pale skin. The figure wondered down a narrow road searching for nothing in particular, each stride formed with grace not possessed by any human. Warm steady breath made visible by the cold midnight air of Kalm. They wondered down the road, but suddenly halted by a street lamp. The figure's head slowly turned to the left, spotting three men dressed in blue uniforms carrying weapons. The leader of the three stepped forward, weapon pointed at the cloaked figure.

"Halt! Throw down any weapons and put your hands behind your head!" he shouted as he stepped closer yet again. The figure remained motionless, but slowly...a smirk formed on pale lips. The men in blue tensed, then a smooth feminine voice drifted through the air.

"_I answer to no man." _

Then without any kind of warning the figure disappeared and suddenly reappeared before the leader of the men. There was a flash of silver and red then a sickening _thud_. The two remaining men stared at their decapitated leader, fear gripping them with it's deathly hold. The figure's hood remained in place as did the smirk.

"_If you value your lives, flee from my site before you join your comrade." _

The two remaining men gulped then looked at each other. Then they dropped their weapons a bolted down the road and out of site. The smirk on pale lips faded into a line of indifference as they turned and followed the road once more, no destination in mind.

--XX--

Cloud stood next to Vincent as they entered the gates of Kalm, he eyed the streets with a frown. The guards at the gate had been talking about some kind of homicide last night and it was bugging him. The man had been in Shinra troop uniform. But those uniforms haven't been used in over six years... Cloud was about to voice his thoughts but Vincent suddenly moved, Cloud looked up and saw he was looking at a picture on a wall. His eyes narrowed when he saw what the picture was. It was a coloured sketch of a person wearing a black hood, with silver strands falling down the sides of the lower face. But what made his blood boil were the eyes only half hidden by the hood. Those green/blue cat-like eyes that haunted his dreams. Only one word escaped his lips.

"Sephiroth." Vincent read the details under the picture and blinked, a frown crossed his pale features, something that didn't happen very often. Cloud noticed this. "Vincent?" The ex-Turk eyed the poster again, then he suddenly gasped and took a step back.

"No, it's not possible, there's no way..." Cloud eyed Vincent.

"What is it Vincent?" he said, his voice more serious then ever. Vincent looked at the picture, then at Cloud.

"I-it's not Sephiroth..." Cloud blinked.

"What, no it is him. I know those eyes anywhere! It has to be him!" Vincent shook his head, regaining most of his composure.

"No...It's not _him_...It's _her_..." This completely threw Cloud off.

"Huh? Who's _her_? How can Sephiroth be a _her_?" Vincent sighed.

"It is not Sephiroth...it's someone else...Someone we must find before Shinra does..." Cloud blinked. Vincent looked at Cloud with all seriousness as always.

"You have to trust me Cloud...No matter what you believe when you see her...She is _not_ Sephiroth." Cloud frowned, but nodded anyway.

--XX--

Cloud sighed as he stepped out of the bar. He and Vincent had agreed to split up and search public places like bars and Inns, showing the picture of the Sephiroth look-a-like. Many people had no idea of who it was, but a few people would either recognise the person in the picture and start cursing about him or just tell Cloud to ask someone else. This was taking him no where fast, Vincent was yet to return with his information and the sun was setting. Cloud was about to call Vincent on his cell when an old woman came out of know where and took hold of his hand.

"The one you seek...Hides by day...Travels by night." Cloud frowned but couldn't ask any questions about it as the woman suddenly hobbled off. He moved to follow her but a claw gripped his shoulder. Cloud turned to see Vincent eyeing were the woman had vanished down an alley.

"She's right, the person we're after hides during the day to stay out of sight and travels by night. We should start looking now, it's getting dark." Cloud nodded as Vincent removed his hand and turned in the opposite direction. "You search the South and West streets, I'll search the rest." Cloud nodded and headed for his assigned area, keeping mako blue eyes focused on his surroundings for any sign of the Sephiroth look-a-like.

Vincent rounded a corner and looked down the road; he continued to walk around the North and East streets without much progress, calling Cloud every so often to check his progress. They both hadn't seen or heard anything. He replaced his cell in his belt and looked around, suddenly his eyes caught sight of a black cloak disappearing behind a wall. He sprinted over to the wall and slid around the corner trying to stay undetected. Then he saw what he was looking for, a figure in a black cloak slowly making their way to the East side gate. He pulled out his trusty Cerberus and jumped onto the roof of the building next to him, he crouched down and followed the figure towards the gate. He was about to move when Cloud suddenly came out of know where holding his blade at the cloaked figures throat from the side. Vincent jumped from the rooftop and landed on the opposite side of the figure. Who was standing quite still...

Cloud eyed the figure with a glare, their aura was exactly the same as Sephiroth's! Vincent eyed Cloud with a warning, the blond caught his eye and calmed down. Vincent lowered his gun and moved to stand in front of the cloaked figure.

"How are you here?" he asked. Cloud blinked for a moment, but blinked again when a woman's voice spoke, not the smooth deep voice of Sephiroth.

"What is it to you, Vincent Valentine?" Vincent eyed the woman before him.

"I thought you were dead." He said. The woman smirked.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Cloud turned his gaze between the two who seemed to be ignoring him.

"Who are you?" he asked. Vincent looked at Cloud. The woman turned to look at Cloud, then lifted a hand and brushed the hood from her head. Cloud's eyes narrowed dangerously. Long silver hair, pale skin, those eyes! It had to be Sephiroth...But it was a woman...

"I know what you are thinking, as hard as it may be to believe, I am not my brother." At the word brother Cloud's face faltered.

"Brother?" Vincent nodded.

"She is the original Sephiroth's sister, identical twin sister really, it is kind of obvious." Cloud's mouth fell open slightly. Sephiroth has a sister? Wait, is she evil?

"My name is Shanti, and what Valentine says is true..." Cloud raised a blond brow, his mouth still open slightly, he looked quite...well quite un-Cloud-like. Vincent found this amusing, but remained indifferent. The Sephiroth look-a-like now known as Shanti simply took in all his features, she could have sworn she'd seen him somewhere...

"Now you know my name, what is yours?" she asked Cloud. The said blond blinked, not quite understanding how she couldn't know _him_ of all people and still be related to his arch nemesis.

"Cloud, Cloud Strife." He said as he watched Shanti's expression. When he gave his name he could have sworn he saw her eyes narrow slightly, but before he could see it clearly it was gone.

"Cloud...Yes, now I know who you are. You're the one who killed my brother the first time in Nibelheim." (sp?) Cloud tightened his grip on First Tsurugi (sp?) as she spoke, Cloud suddenly had the feeling she didn't like him for that.

"I had no choice, he was insane." This seemed to be rather funny for Shanti because she suddenly started laughing.

"Insane? Ha! You have no idea what's really going on do you? No none of you do." This confused both Cloud and Vincent.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Asked Vincent as he studied Shanti's composure in case she turns hostile.

"It's not his fault..." This caught Cloud completely off guard.

"Not his fault? The bastard lost it in Nibelheim and went and killed everyone! He killed me for crying out loud!" Cloud was getting angry now. Not his fault HA! Shanti's gaze suddenly fell on the floor.

"It wasn't him who killed those people...it was that _beast _inside of him! That damn bitch Jenova is controlling him! He can't help what he's doing!" This seemed to royally piss Cloud off, which didn't go unnoticed by the ex-Turk.

"And how do you know that pray tell? Your exactly like him in every aspect! Your appearance, aura and even your damn scent! I can understand why you'd defend him but making up some bullshit-" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as he was suddenly forcefully rammed into a wall with an all to familiar blade pointed at his throat.

"Your right about one thing Strife! I am like him in most aspects. I have all his powers and skills, that includes his Masamune so it would be wise of you to NOT piss me off! Everything I've said about my brother is the truth! Now I can't make you believe me but by gods don't you dare accuse me of lying! My brother is innocent! It's that horrid bitch Jenova who's making him do all those things!"

"And how do you know that?"

"I know because she did the same thing to me! But I found a way to rid my being of her, and wether you like it or not I'm going to save my brother and be done with all these horrors!" Shanti glared at the man before her, he seemed to be thinking about what she had said. She removed Masamune from his throat and released it, the long blade fading from her hand in a green/blue light. "Now I don't expect you to forgive my brother, but I do ask you to give him a chance, he fight's Jenova's hold on him. But so many years under her hand has weakened his spirit greatly. To free himself he will need my help, and for that I will need _your_ help Cloud Strife. As powerful as I may be, I can't take on Shinra and heal my brother at the same time, so I ask for your help." She said as she bowed her head to Cloud, who was beyond surprised. What she said didn't sound that far fetched. When Sephiroth had controlled his body he had felt another presence in his mind, but it was also holding the General...Maybe she was telling the truth after all. But what if she's under Jenova's control as well? He looked at Vincent, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines. The dark haired man looked at Shanti, then nodded to Cloud. The blond blinked, then eyed Shanti. His mind was racing, should be believe her? Vincent seemed to. With a few more moments of thought, Cloud nodded his head. He noticed how Shanti seemed to release a breath he hadn't realised she was holding. She raised her gaze to meet his, then did something that, considering she was a mirror image of Sephiroth seemed kind of weird. She smiled...

"Thank you...I know what Jenova has done to you all, it must be hard to help her puppet of all people. But none the less you have my gratitude." Cloud nodded again, he was still uncurtain wether to trust this Shanti or not, but something deep down told him he could. If Vincent could trust her, then he should be able to as well.

Then a question suddenly came to mind. "Ok, we will help you save...Sephiroth...Wow that sounded...crazy...But we will, my first question...How are we supposed to find him? Last time I checked he was dead." Shanti nodded.

"I understand your discomfort in the matter Strife, but to answer your question. He's not as dead as you may think. Sephiroth and I are not human as you know, but we were still born of a human mother." At that she glanced at Vincent, who was listening intently. "Lucrecia, was our beloved mother. But before we were born a horrid man by the name of Gast toyed with our genetic make up and such, creating us as we are now. And in doing what he did he created a bond between me and my brother, not a simple bond between twins but one that runs much deeper..." Cloud nodded as he absorbed this new information, Vincent seemed to know some of it but was still listening. Shanti's gaze drifted around the area as she spoke.

"This bond we share, connects us in many ways. When we are near we will know what the other is thinking, how they are feeling. In some cases we share the same dreams, memories of times long since passed. We share our power equally, if we were to fight together in combat, we would more then likely be unbeatable. But the strongest bond we share will no doubt be our deaths...(This might sound a little

Harry Potter 5 people) one can only live while the other remains such... I being the first born hold the bonds strings...In a way I'm the source of his life... If I were to suddenly be killed, our bond would shatter his mind and soul...and he would die too...But while I remain alive his consciousness cannot be killed...That is why I have been absent for so long, the original professor, our...Creator locked me away...To keep me safe, and in doing so...Keeping his _pet_ alive...The way that man treated us makes me sick!" Cloud sighed as he suddenly realised the truth.

That's why he would never remain dead long...because he couldn't die...unless Shanti died with him...Oh the irony of it all! Shanti noticed Cloud's expression and smiled sadly.

"Yes, you can blame me for everyone's suffering if you wish...It is my fault in many ways...I'm the older twin, I should have taken better care of my brother...If I had done just that Jenova would not have been able to touch his mind! But alas, it wouldn't be the first time I'd failed someone I loved..." Cloud's mind halted at that as he looked up. He was about to ask about that but was silenced when Shanti suddenly span on her heal, Masamune appearing in her hand eyes flashing. Vincent also had his weapon pointed at something, at turning to see Cloud spotted a rather large number of Shinra troops in blue uniforms. Shanti sighed in annoyance.

"How many of you guys must I kill to get the message through! You can't have me!" With that she charged forward with inhuman speed and grace, cutting through the first lot of troops with ease. Vincent joined in by firing his weapon while Cloud just stood there kind of dumbfounded. -Well he is blond...- (No offence to any blonds it's just a joke) Shanti cut through the last of the twenty eight troops and looked around. It seemed over, oh wait hang on there's a barrage of...are those tranquillisers! Shanti ducked and strafed dodging the small darts filled with enough liquid to take down a cave dragon with some level of difficulty, there were so many. She used Masamune to deflect most of them and started to work her way towards Cloud and Vincent. "I think now is the best time to make our escape don't you agree?" She called as she deflected another barrage. They just kept coming! They were bloody keen on getting her that was for sure. Cloud nodded and rounded the corner followed by Vincent, Shanti turned and raised her right hand, it glowed a pale green for a moment, then sent a shot of the green light towards the oncoming attackers. There was a bright flash then a loud explosion as it collided with the front row. She smirked and followed Cloud and Vincent.

They passed through the gate and made their way down the path to the outskirts of the village where strangely enough awaited the Sierra (sp?) Shanti eyed the flying ship for a moment, she suddenly got the feeling this wasn't going to end well with Cloud's comrades, she just new it... They were almost home free when a few slight stings made Shanti blink. She turned to look at her back as she ran, then paled. As powerful a she may be, having around six darts sticking out of her back wasn't the best thing. She kept running, shaking her head as he vision started to blur, now wasn't the time, the ship was only around 100 metres away! She shook her head again and picked up her slowing pace, she hadn't realised she was slowing down in the first place! She released Masamune and un-buttoned her cloak, throwing it to the side as she ran revealing a lower thigh length black skirt, black healed boots that went to just below her knees and a buttoned up leather jacket.

Shanti shook her head again, she was almost there she was right behind Cloud as he ran. She followed him and Vincent up the ramp and finally into the Ship which suddenly jerked then started to ascend. She sighed in relief as the hanger doors closed shut behind her. Well that was one problem done with, now for the slowly loosing consciousness problem. She tried to say something to Cloud who was catching his breath but no words escaped her lips, the last thing she saw, heard and felt was a group of people running into the hanger, shouting for Cloud to watch out, something about Sephiroth then cold metal rushing up to meet her...Then Darkness.

--XX--

OK PEOPLE! What did you think? I myself love this one...It's cool, you know how I came by this? It wasn't just inspired by someone, that someone just gave me the subject for FF7. It was actually about Reno and had nothing to do with any kind of family matters but anyway. It came from a freaky dream I had a few nights ago. I was in Shanti's shoes and found myself in front of a freaking out Cloud who thought I was Sephiroth...Then for some weird reason I just slapped him...then he slapped me...then I slapped him and so on, it went like that for a while, then Reno walked in and pissed himself laughing...then my alarm clock woke me up...what a strange dream...I never took Cloud for the bitch slapping type. HA! REVIEW PLEASE!


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